First Time Again
by Random Guise
Summary: In the movie Total Recall (1990) Douglas Quaid visits a business called Rekall to have a vacation memory implanted into him. Like most technologies, that opportunity didn't just happen overnight. Here is a possible precursor to that company. I forget well enough on my own, thank you very much.


**A/N: This one-shot takes place quite some time before the 1990 movie "Total Recall".**

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First Time Again

The room darkened and the large screen lit with a scene of hands flipping through the empty pages of a book. A voice-over began speaking.

_Read a good book lately? Have you seen a great movie recently? If the answer is 'no', then the reason is probably because you've ALREADY read the best book you'll ever read, or seen the greatest movie you'll ever see._

_And that's a shame._

The scene cut to a person frowning.

_No doubt you've been disappointed following a story only to know in the first fifteen minutes that you know who the murderer is, who wins the race, or if that hero makes it home. Reboots, sequels, rip-offs and homages dilute the original experience you cherish so much. So what is a person to do to experience that thrill again as though it was the first time? The people here at Blankit have a solution._

_Using the latest in cognitive memory technology, we are able to selectively erase memories of your choice; the next time you watch that movie or read that book, it will feel like the first time because it really WILL be the first time. Every twist, every reveal and every surprise will be fresh and completely new. You'll be cheering like you never have before, because as far as you're concerned you haven't._

A scene was shown of a man jumping out of his chair cheering at his monitor, popcorn spilling onto the floor.

_Using patented techniques, we create a snapshot of your memory and then carefully blank out those portions that pertain to a specific record. Rest assured, even though the human brain is more complex than the biggest computer we have the ability to achieve results that are guaranteed to be exactly what you want. A simple look at these two snapshots..._

At this point the scene changed to two nearly identical digital images of what was supposed to be a brain, but could have been an interstellar dust cloud.

_...pinpoint exactly the difference between before and after our process; notice how specific and limited the change is. Very stringent guidelines are followed, and all procedures are monitored by government regulatory personnel to ensure complete satisfaction over a process that must be voluntary to be successful._

A man in a suit was standing beside a briefcase looking over a clipboard. He gave a thumbs up to a patient in a chair with a doctor standing beside her, and both returned the gesture enthusiastically.

_Granted, no deletion process is 100% complete. You'll still remember that you used to know, but it will be simply a trace on a subconscious level; the most you'll have is a feeling of _deja vu_, without knowing what specifically. You'll retain the knowledge of having read the book or seen the movie before, but not what was in it._

_And why stop at just a book or movie? If you've had the vacation of your life and miss the uniqueness of the experience, use our services and have the best vacation you've ever had - again._

A couple was shown nervously edging closer to an open door in a plane before jumping out to skydive.

_Contact one of our sales representatives and let them tell you how you can have the best time of your life all over. We can help you to remember to forget...with Blankit._

Oscar Mahor raised the lights and various company execs in the audience congratulated him on the latest ad for their new service. He returned their handshakes and smiles, basking in the accolades. After many departed, a very stiff man in a stiff suit approached him and indicated he wished to speak off to the side. Oscar obliged, and found himself talking with Colonel Bill Logna.

"How did you like it Bill?"

"Oscar, I think it was great. You've got a great service, and the commercial pushed all the right buttons. Hell, I'm almost tempted to try it; I'd like to read War and Peace again. I think the public will come around, and I'm happy that no mention was made of some of the...ahem...possible military applications."

"Yeah," Oscar said as he made sure his voice was low enough not to be overheard by anyone else "I think that hypothetical situation we discussed before with a spy completely forgetting his mission afterward could be useful. We still retain the rights to the technology, right?"

"Of course; our people couldn't figure it out for a decade because trust me, they've tried. As long as we have access to its limited use, you're free to develop and refine it toward any commercial application you desire. If you'll excuse me, I have to go talk up that DA and make sure his feathers aren't ruffled by technology he doesn't understand." The colonel excused himself and joined a conversation with the aforementioned attorney. At his departure, a casually dressed man rose from his chair and approached.

"Mr. Mahor?"

"Yes?"

"Sal Llammi. I found your presentation very polished, and I have great interest in your service." The man stopped just short of shaking hands, but seemed genuinely enthusiastic.

"You can get our number from information; our sales reps are very good and can work with you on your needs" Oscar coached.

"Yes, but I'm not interested in actually _using_ the service, but in the applications."

Oscar stiffened a bit; was this man probing to find his connection to the military? "Oh?"

"Excuse me, let me explain" Sal went on. "I represent a small company that is working on a service that is, quite frankly, a compliment to yours. Ours is in the research stage at the moment, but we think with what we've worked out and with a technical alliance with Blankit we could get a lot closer to realizing our goals."

"Complimentary? You sell vacations or some form of entertainment?"

"Both, and neither. Let me put it to you this way; you've created a way to erase selected memories. What if you could put a new memory in its place, one chosen by the client himself? Put in a way so that the client would have all the cerebral experience without actually having done it themselves?"

"New, prerecorded memories? Inserted into the client?" Oscar thought out loud while he pondered the proposal. "You could either record over the top of an erased memory...hmmm...or just insert it with the proper linkages. You'd need a way to record...we could document the process...but then...although..." he continued for some time until finally he ended with "...but I think it could work. We'd have to be careful, but I think it could." His eyes focused again on Sal as he came back to the moment. "I don't think you're asking me for the sake of theoretical argument, are you."

Sal smiled. "You might say I have more than a vested interest in the idea. My associates and I are passionate about the project, and we've created a road map on the process that you might find very interesting; perhaps even profitable. Are you interested?"

Oscar drew out a small wallet from his coat pocket and removed a card which he handed to the man. "Here is my personal number; let's talk. By the way, what is the name of your company anyway?"

Sal fidgeted. "We haven't finalized the name yet, but we're leaning towards 'Rekall'."

"I like it."

The End

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**A/N: The movie doesn't go into any real history of how Rekall was started, but this is written as a possible precursor. A coworker and I have made the inside joke for years that when the company has a sponsored lunch coming up to "remember to forget to bring your lunch tomorrow".**

**Is this technology ripe for abuse? You betcha! Sounds like an interesting story there...**


End file.
